American Idol Recap: Round of 4 - May 8th, 2007
"Three Girls and One Guy", we're reminded by Seacrest as the show opens. Tonight is Barry Gibb night. We get a rundown of Barry Gibb's career. I didn't know the BeeGees had 30 albums, did you? How did they have time to do all that.
Since I was just a young lad in the 70s, when I think of Barry Gibb, I mostly think of the Saturday Night Live sketch, "The Barry Gibb Show", with Jimmy Fallon as Barry Gibb. Good Times!
Anyway, after Seacrest tells us for the hundredth time this season that our votes are important, we're on to the music....
Melinda Doolittle is up first. Barry Gibb thought her choice of song ("Love Me Inside and Out") was unusual, but said she managed to pull it off in rehearsals. I think he's right. She really brought the song to life and made it her own. It was just a bit boring, but overall, she did very well!
Randy: That was another solid performance.
Paula: It's hard to critique you because your vocals are always spot on.
Simon: I expect incredible tonight. That was not incredible. That was a backup vocal performance.
Buzz Score: 8.5
Blake Lewis is up next next with "You Should Be Dancin'". Barry Gibb thinks Blake's beat boxing really suits this song. We'll see how well it works. Blake's dance moves really go well with the music, but the style of the song itself is a little weird for me. All the echoing and the poor falsetto is just distracting. I completely agree with Randy. The beat boxing just made it corny. I'm hoping Blake can come back with a great second performance.
Randy: Tonight, the beat boxing didn't work. It made it very corny.
Paula: It started a little shaky. Your pitch was off. You showed why you're unique.
Simon: I'll give you unique, but I thought it was absolutely terrible.
Buzz Score: 7
LaKisha is "Stayin' Alive" tonight. She's decided to slow it down and give it a soulful style. Like Melinda, she's taking a falsetto song by a man and making it her own. Though her pitch is good, and her style is solid, I think she could have done a little more with this song. She really didn't take too many risks, and if she had, perhaps she could have really blown the house down. As it was, it was just good.
Randy: That was weird for me. It wasn't working.
Paula: Everyone was on their feet, but taking the tempo down brought the mood down.
Simon: No kiss tonight, baby!
Buzz Score: 8
Jordin rounds out the performers with "You Don't Know What It's Like". This song has been sung by the Bee Gees, Janis Joplin, Michael Bolton, Hank Williams Jr., among many others. Barry Gibb said he's heard hundreds of people sing this song, but he's never heard a greater version than Jordin. That's quite a compliment. Can she live up to the hype?
She starts off slow with good tone. I'm not totally blown away at first, but as the song progresses, she takes it up a notch and sounds really good. I don't know if I'm as impressed as Barry Gibb, but I liked it.
Randy: That's the best vocal so far. I liked the throwback vibe. So far, you're winning.
Paula: You look very beautiful. The best vocal tonight.
Simon: Best song choice, best performance so far. You're back in the competition.
Buzz Score: 8.5
Sarah from Charlotte asks Melinda what her first tape ever was. She says it was "Bad" by Michael Jackson, but her mother crossed out the album title an wrote "Good".
Singing "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart", she takes a page from her mom's book by leaving out a line in the song that mentions being a loser. The song starts out a little boring, but mid-way through, she finds the energy, and the crowd starts cheering. The ending was great, and her performance was too.
Randy: Second song, much better. Beautiful ending. You're our resident pro.
Paula: A beautiful vocal. I would love for you to throw your technique away and surprise us.
Simon: I think the second half of that song has put you into the semi-finals.
Buzz Score: 9
For his second performance, Blake has chosen "This is Where I Came In." Barry Gibb thought this would be a hit for the Bee Gees, but he was wrong. He now thinks maybe it can be a hit for Blake. I think this song suits Blake's style a little better, and he doesn't base the song around gimmicks. I'm not familiar with the original version of this song, but I can envision a group like 311 singing this version of it. I don't know if Blake will have a hit with this song, but it may put him into the semifinals.
, the judges comments notwithstanding
Randy: I'm not jumping up and down. I like the reggae spin on it.
Paula: There ain't nothin' old about Blake. You are the rebel in this competition.
Simon: I found that song completely tuneless. I don't think you've had a good night tonight.
Buzz Score: 8
Judge Judy us an American Idol Fan! Seacrest says something about her and Simon dating before the producers remind him that we're running short on time. LaKisha's second song is "Run To Me". Barry Gibb thinks her range is amazing. The performance started off boring, and never really broke out. The singing was fine, and I liked the performance well enough, but it wasn't anything special.
Randy: Much better than the first song.
Paula: You're still a champ.
Simon: It was better than the first song. It still wasn't great.
Buzz Score: 7.5
The judges blow quickly through their critique of LaKisha so we can get right to.... a commercial. After the break, Jordin closes the show with her rendidtion of "A Woman in Love", as performed by Barbara Streisand. Barry Gibb really likes Jordin. In this clip, he says she will be one of our greatest recording artists. On the first song, she sounded better in rehearsals than on stage. I don't like this performance as much as the first, but again, I'm not blown away. A solid performance, but not incredible.
Randy: Not your best performance. A little pitchy.
Paula: You are absolutely beautiful.
Simon: I loved the song. Old fashioned. Very pageanty.
Buzz Score: 8
After the recap, Seacrest reminds us to watch tomorrow night, and then he brings back a gem we haven't heard since Season Three. "Seacrest, Out!" Oh yeah!
Gone tomorrow night - It really could be anybody, but I think LaKisha is the smart pick. Blake stands out from the ladies stylistically, and won't have to share votes with any similar performers. I think he's safe for at least another week. America seems to be liking Jordin more and more each week, and Melinda leaving would be a shock (kind of like Chris Daughtry leaving in this round last season).
That's all for now. See you back here tomorrow night! The Idol Buzz, Out!
Since I was just a young lad in the 70s, when I think of Barry Gibb, I mostly think of the Saturday Night Live sketch, "The Barry Gibb Show", with Jimmy Fallon as Barry Gibb. Good Times!
Anyway, after Seacrest tells us for the hundredth time this season that our votes are important, we're on to the music....
Melinda Doolittle is up first. Barry Gibb thought her choice of song ("Love Me Inside and Out") was unusual, but said she managed to pull it off in rehearsals. I think he's right. She really brought the song to life and made it her own. It was just a bit boring, but overall, she did very well!
Randy: That was another solid performance.
Paula: It's hard to critique you because your vocals are always spot on.
Simon: I expect incredible tonight. That was not incredible. That was a backup vocal performance.
Buzz Score: 8.5
Blake Lewis is up next next with "You Should Be Dancin'". Barry Gibb thinks Blake's beat boxing really suits this song. We'll see how well it works. Blake's dance moves really go well with the music, but the style of the song itself is a little weird for me. All the echoing and the poor falsetto is just distracting. I completely agree with Randy. The beat boxing just made it corny. I'm hoping Blake can come back with a great second performance.
Randy: Tonight, the beat boxing didn't work. It made it very corny.
Paula: It started a little shaky. Your pitch was off. You showed why you're unique.
Simon: I'll give you unique, but I thought it was absolutely terrible.
Buzz Score: 7
LaKisha is "Stayin' Alive" tonight. She's decided to slow it down and give it a soulful style. Like Melinda, she's taking a falsetto song by a man and making it her own. Though her pitch is good, and her style is solid, I think she could have done a little more with this song. She really didn't take too many risks, and if she had, perhaps she could have really blown the house down. As it was, it was just good.
Randy: That was weird for me. It wasn't working.
Paula: Everyone was on their feet, but taking the tempo down brought the mood down.
Simon: No kiss tonight, baby!
Buzz Score: 8
Jordin rounds out the performers with "You Don't Know What It's Like". This song has been sung by the Bee Gees, Janis Joplin, Michael Bolton, Hank Williams Jr., among many others. Barry Gibb said he's heard hundreds of people sing this song, but he's never heard a greater version than Jordin. That's quite a compliment. Can she live up to the hype?
She starts off slow with good tone. I'm not totally blown away at first, but as the song progresses, she takes it up a notch and sounds really good. I don't know if I'm as impressed as Barry Gibb, but I liked it.
Randy: That's the best vocal so far. I liked the throwback vibe. So far, you're winning.
Paula: You look very beautiful. The best vocal tonight.
Simon: Best song choice, best performance so far. You're back in the competition.
Buzz Score: 8.5
Sarah from Charlotte asks Melinda what her first tape ever was. She says it was "Bad" by Michael Jackson, but her mother crossed out the album title an wrote "Good".
Singing "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart", she takes a page from her mom's book by leaving out a line in the song that mentions being a loser. The song starts out a little boring, but mid-way through, she finds the energy, and the crowd starts cheering. The ending was great, and her performance was too.
Randy: Second song, much better. Beautiful ending. You're our resident pro.
Paula: A beautiful vocal. I would love for you to throw your technique away and surprise us.
Simon: I think the second half of that song has put you into the semi-finals.
Buzz Score: 9
For his second performance, Blake has chosen "This is Where I Came In." Barry Gibb thought this would be a hit for the Bee Gees, but he was wrong. He now thinks maybe it can be a hit for Blake. I think this song suits Blake's style a little better, and he doesn't base the song around gimmicks. I'm not familiar with the original version of this song, but I can envision a group like 311 singing this version of it. I don't know if Blake will have a hit with this song, but it may put him into the semifinals.
, the judges comments notwithstanding
Randy: I'm not jumping up and down. I like the reggae spin on it.
Paula: There ain't nothin' old about Blake. You are the rebel in this competition.
Simon: I found that song completely tuneless. I don't think you've had a good night tonight.
Buzz Score: 8
Judge Judy us an American Idol Fan! Seacrest says something about her and Simon dating before the producers remind him that we're running short on time. LaKisha's second song is "Run To Me". Barry Gibb thinks her range is amazing. The performance started off boring, and never really broke out. The singing was fine, and I liked the performance well enough, but it wasn't anything special.
Randy: Much better than the first song.
Paula: You're still a champ.
Simon: It was better than the first song. It still wasn't great.
Buzz Score: 7.5
The judges blow quickly through their critique of LaKisha so we can get right to.... a commercial. After the break, Jordin closes the show with her rendidtion of "A Woman in Love", as performed by Barbara Streisand. Barry Gibb really likes Jordin. In this clip, he says she will be one of our greatest recording artists. On the first song, she sounded better in rehearsals than on stage. I don't like this performance as much as the first, but again, I'm not blown away. A solid performance, but not incredible.
Randy: Not your best performance. A little pitchy.
Paula: You are absolutely beautiful.
Simon: I loved the song. Old fashioned. Very pageanty.
Buzz Score: 8
After the recap, Seacrest reminds us to watch tomorrow night, and then he brings back a gem we haven't heard since Season Three. "Seacrest, Out!" Oh yeah!
Gone tomorrow night - It really could be anybody, but I think LaKisha is the smart pick. Blake stands out from the ladies stylistically, and won't have to share votes with any similar performers. I think he's safe for at least another week. America seems to be liking Jordin more and more each week, and Melinda leaving would be a shock (kind of like Chris Daughtry leaving in this round last season).
That's all for now. See you back here tomorrow night! The Idol Buzz, Out!
Posted at
6:08 PM
1 Comments:
Barry Gibb did a pretty good job of performing on American Idol, though the contestants, for the most part, botched up the Bee Gees. Jordan was the exception, as was Linda Dolittle, at least with her second performance of the evening.
I think most people would like to see the Bee Gees back together, but with Maurice gone, it just wouldn't be the same. I miss the days:
When the Bee Gees were Three
Dr BLT
words and music by Dr BLT (c) 2007
http://www.drblt.net/music/beegeees.mp3
Dr BLT
Blog n Roll Artist
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